Dean Sally Maliski announces retirement from KU School of Nursing

Sally Maliski, Ph.D., FAAN, who has served as the dean of the University of Kansas School of Nursing since January 2016, has announced her retirement. Maliski has agreed to serve as interim dean until December while a national search is held to find a new dean for the school.

“It is time for me to move on to my next adventure — retirement,” Maliski said. “I am truly grateful for the many people who have helped our school grow and thrive over the past seven and half years, even through a pandemic.”

During Maliski’s tenure as dean, she has overseen numerous initiatives, including the expansion of KU School of Nursing to the Salina campus and the launch of the Community College Nursing Partnership program. Most recently, Maliski has led efforts to bring together numerous stakeholders from across Kansas to launch a statewide conversation on the nursing shortage and related crises.

“Work on the nursing shortage and related crises will continue,” Maliski said, noting that Heather Nelson-Brantley, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing, and Amy L. Garcia, DNP, FAAN, clinical associate professor of nursing, are engaged in numerous conversations and planning sessions around the state. “It’s critical that we continue to explore ways to retain and increase the number of nurses and nursing faculty in Kansas and beyond.”

A researcher herself, Maliski has placed an increased emphasis on research at KU School of Nursing. Maliski’s research has centered on quality of life and the management of cancer treatment-related symptoms among underserved populations. Maliski has served as the principal investigator for two Department of Defense-funded studies and three National Institutes of Health-funded studies focused on the effects of prostate cancer treatment, quality of life and family roles.

Maliski began her career as part of the Army Reserve Nurse Corps at the 364th General Hospital in Albany, New York, and she has served in a wide variety of roles in her 45 years in nursing and higher education. She has been a bedside nurse, nurse manager and nursing faculty member, while also serving in various educational capacities for several prestigious institutions, including as associate dean for academic and student affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing.

“Please join me in thanking Dean Maliski for her commitment to excellence in leading the School of Nursing and in wishing her well in this next chapter of her journey,” said Robert D. Simari, M.D., executive vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center.